Toy Vehicle Booster

ABSTRACT

A toy vehicle booster includes a launcher that can be actuated via repeated user actuations of an actuator. The force of each actuation is mechanically transferred to a booster assembly to cause rotation of the booster assembly and repeated actuations of the actuator continuously increase the rotational speed of the booster assembly. The toy vehicle booster also includes a feedback portion configured to provide feedback based on a rotational speed of the booster assembly and/or a speed at which the booster assembly will boost a toy vehicle. In at least some instances, the feedback is based on the detected rotational speed of booster wheels. The detected rotational speed may also be transmitted to an electronic device to provide additional feedback at the electronic device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and is based on U.S. Patent Application No. 62/834,571, filed Apr. 16, 2019, entitled “Toy Vehicle Track System,” and U.S. Patent Application No. 62/837,341, filed Apr. 23, 2019, entitled “Toy Vehicle Booster,” the entire disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a toy vehicle booster and, in particular, to a toy vehicle booster that can detect the rotational speed of its booster wheels when its booster wheels rotate in response to a manual input.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional toy vehicle track sets include one or more sections of track along which a toy vehicle can travel. In some track sets, accessories, such as boosters, will act on a toy vehicle as, before, or after the toy vehicle is traveling along the track. At least because children may grow tired of playing with the same accessories, accessories that provide new and interesting play features to a toy vehicle track set are continuously desired.

Additionally, in the modern world, even new and interesting physical accessories may have limited play value as compared to digital games and apps. For at least this reason, toy vehicles with identifying data stored therein have been introduced. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/170,145, filed on Oct. 25, 2018, and entitled “Toy Vehicle Accessory and Related System,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety, provides a toy vehicle with a wireless tag that can be read by a reader to identify a toy vehicle and import the toy vehicle into a digital world.

To further enhance this digital-physical play, physical accessories that can add play value a digital environment related to the physical track set are also desired. Such accessories may be particularly desirable if the accessories can add play value when a play set is connected and disconnected from a virtual or digital environment. That is, accessories that can add play value to both a physical track set and a digital environment may be desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A toy vehicle booster is presented herein. According to one example embodiment, the toy vehicle booster includes a launcher that can be actuated via repeated user actuations of an actuator. The force of each actuation is mechanically transferred to a booster assembly to cause rotation of linked booster wheels positioned on opposite side of a track piece and repeated actuations of the actuator continuously increase the rotational speed of the linked booster wheels.

The toy vehicle booster also includes a sensor to detect the rotational speed of the booster wheels and a feedback portion configured to provide feedback based on the rotational speed of the booster wheels. In at least some embodiments, the rotational speed of the booster wheels may be representative of a speed at which the booster wheels will boost a toy vehicle and, thus, the feedback portion may also/alternatively provide feedback relating to the speed at which a toy vehicle will be boosted. Moreover, in at least some instance, the detected rotational speed may also be transmitted to an electronic device to provide additional feedback at the electronic device and/or so that the electronic device can generate digital play features in a digital environment associated with a track set in which the toy vehicle booster is included.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a top perspective view of a toy vehicle booster formed in accordance with an example embodiment of the present application.

FIGS. 2-6 illustrate a top view, a bottom view, a side view, a back view, and a front view, respectively, of the toy vehicle booster of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 7-9 illustrate perspective views of the toy vehicle booster of FIG. 1 with various components (e.g., covers, supports, and housings) removed to show a launcher included in the toy vehicle booster.

FIG. 10 illustrates a bottom perspective view of a plunger included in the launcher illustrated in FIGS. 7-9.

FIGS. 11-13 illustrate different perspective views of the launcher included in the toy vehicle booster of FIG. 1, with various components of the launcher omitted from at least some of these Figures.

FIG. 14 illustrates a top perspective view of a toy vehicle booster formed in accordance with another example embodiment of the present application.

FIGS. 15-17 illustrate a front perspective view, a back perspective view, and a bottom view, respectively, of a toy vehicle booster formed in accordance with yet another example embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 18 illustrates a detailed side view of a portion of a launcher included in the toy vehicle booster of FIGS. 15-17.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating computing components included in a toy vehicle booster formed in accordance with an example embodiment of the present application.

Like reference numerals have been used to identify like elements throughout this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Overall, a toy vehicle booster is presented herein. The toy vehicle booster includes a launcher that can be manually actuated via repeated user actuations of an actuator. The force of each actuation is mechanically transferred to a booster assembly to cause linked booster wheels positioned on opposite side of a track piece to rotate. Repeated actuations of the actuator continuously increase the rotational speed of the linked booster wheels. The toy vehicle booster may also include a sensor to detect the rotational speed of the booster wheels, which may be equivalent to or representative of a speed at which the booster wheels will boost a toy vehicle. Additionally or alternatively, the toy vehicle booster may include a feedback portion configured to provide feedback based on the rotational speed of the booster wheels and/or the speed at which a toy vehicle will be boosted.

In at least some embodiments, the detected speed may also be transmitted to an electronic device (e.g., a tablet or smartphone executing an app associated with a track system in which the booster is included). Then, the electronic device can provide additional feedback, such as a speed in miles per hour that correlates to a detected rotational speed. Additionally or alternatively, an electronic device can utilize the detected speed to create a digital simulation of play on a physical track set, add play features to a digital track set, or create any other digital play features.

FIGS. 1-6 illustrate an example embodiment of the toy vehicle booster presented herein. In this example embodiment, the booster 200 includes features that allow it to be included or incorporated into a “smart” and/or electrical toy vehicle track set. In particular, the booster 200 includes electronic couplers 300 that can electrically connect the booster 200 to other track pieces that also include couplers 300. Additionally, the booster includes a receptacle 214 configured to receive a hub or “portal piece” that may serve as a central hub for an electronic toy vehicle track system (e.g., the “brains” of a smart track set). Among other tasks, the portal piece can determine a configuration of a physical toy vehicle track set and transmit data to an electronic device (e.g., to a tablet or smartphone executing an app associated with the track system) in order to allow the electronic device to create a digital representation of the physical toy vehicle track. However, booster 200 is merely one example the toy vehicle booster presented herein and, in other embodiments, the toy vehicle booster presented herein need not include features that allow it to be included or incorporated into a “smart” and/or electrical track set (an example of which is described in connection with FIGS. 15-18).

Nevertheless, for completeness, the booster 200 is now described in detail. The booster 200 extends from a first end 202 (an upstream end) to a second end 204 (a downstream end) and includes a base portion 210 that defines a portal receptacle 214, track receptacles 230, and a launcher housing 2120, among other features. More specifically, the base portion 210 includes a housing 212 that defines the portal receptacle 214 between track receptacles 230 disposed at the opposing ends 202, 204 of the booster 200. The base portion 210 also defines the launcher housing 2120 so that a passageway 2122 included in the launcher housing 2120 is aligned with the track receptacle 230 disposed at the upstream end 202 of the booster 200. Each of the portal receptacle 214, the track receptacles 230, and the launcher housing 2120 are generally formed in an upper side 2104 of the housing 212, which is disposed opposite a lower side 2102. The lower side 2102 is aligned with or defined by a bottom 250 of the housing 212.

The portal receptacle 214 is generally shaped to mate with a peripheral surface of a portal piece, but may also include mounting receptacles 220 and/or contoured inner walls 218 configured to mate with the mounting features included on the bottom of a portal piece (e.g., via snap or press fit connections). The portal receptacle 214 may also include an electrical connector 216 (e.g., a “base connector”) that is sized and positioned to mate with an electrical port included on a portal piece as the portal piece is installed in the portal receptacle 214. Thus, overall, the portal receptacle 214 allows a portal piece to be installed in the booster 200 and may ensure that a portal piece 100 is electrically coupled to the booster 200 when it is mechanically connected to the booster 200.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-6, the booster 200 also includes an outer wall 222 that is spaced apart from the inner wall 218 to form a protective barrier around the portal receptacle 214. In at least some locations, the outer wall 222 may be contoured in a substantially similar manner to the inner wall 218, for example, to enable a user to grip a portal piece sitting in the portal receptacle 214 and disconnect the portal piece from the portal receptacle 214. In at least some embodiments, the outer wall 222 may also define an external electrical port (not shown). The port may allow an electronic device, such as a smartphone or tablet, to connect to a portal piece installed in the booster 200 (i.e., a portal piece coupled to port 216) and/or computing components included in the booster 200 via a wired connection. Additionally or alternatively, the port may enable power to be delivered to the booster 200 and/or a portal device installed in the booster 200.

The track receptacles 230 formed on opposing sides of the portal receptacle 214 are sized to receive tack pieces that can align with a track section included on a portal piece and form a continuous pathway from the upstream end 202 of the booster 200 to the downstream end 204 of the booster. As can be seen best in the back and front views provided by FIGS. 5 and 6, each of receptacles 230 is formed by an inner surface 234 of a first sidewall 232 and an opposing inner surface 238 of a second sidewall 236. Meanwhile, and as is shown best in the top view provided by FIG. 2, each of the track receptacles 230 spans from an outer wall 242 that is aligned with end 202 or end 204 of the booster 200 to an inner wall 240 that is aligned with the portal receptacle 214. Put another way, the track receptacles 230 define passageways 246 from the portal receptacle 214 to either end 202 or end 204 of the booster 200.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-6, but now in combination with FIG. 7 as well, track sections 280 and 282 are mounted on upper surfaces 244 of the passageways 246 created by track receptacles 230. Consequently, when a portal piece with a track is mounted in the booster 200, the portal piece and booster 200 can cooperate to provide a track pathway from the first end (i.e., the upstream end) 202 of the base piece to the second end (i.e., the downstream end) 204 of the booster 200.

As is shown in FIG. 7, track section 280 extends from a first end 2806 to a second end 2808 and includes a bottom 2802 that is bounded by opposing sidewalls 2804. Meanwhile, track section 282 extends from a first end 2826 to a second end 2828 and includes a bottom 2822 that is bounded by opposing sidewalls 2824. In various embodiments, sidewalls 2804 and/or sidewalls 2824 can include extensions or cutouts (or other such features) to provide various portions/components of the booster 200 (e.g., portions of booster wheels) and/or of the portal with access to track section 280 and/or track section 282. This may, for example, allow portions/components of booster 200 to extend into or have a sight line across track section 280 and/or track section 282.

Regardless of the features included in track sections 280 and 282, each end of booster 200 includes a track coupler 300 that allow the booster 200 to be connected to additional track pieces of a smart or electrical track set. Notably, the track coupler 300 included at the upstream end 202 of booster 200 has a mirrored arrangement as compared to the coupler 300 included at the downstream end 204 of booster 200. Thus, if the booster 200 was flipped about its Y-axis (i.e., rotated 180 degrees about a vertical axis extending through a center of the portal receptacle 214), protrusions of the couplers 300 would be disposed in the same place as shown in FIGS. 1-3.

Moreover, when a portal piece is installed in the booster 200 so that an electrical connection is formed between the portal piece and the booster 200, computing components included in the portal piece 100 will be electrically coupled to the couplers 300 included in the booster 200 (see FIG. 19) and can communication bi-directionally with additional track pieces connected to the couplers 300. In some embodiments, the couplers 300 connect directly to the components of the portal piece 100. Alternatively, the booster 200 may also include computing components, such as a processor, memory, and communications module, and the couplers 300 may facilitate bi-directional communications with the computing components included in the booster 200. In fact, in some embodiments, a portal piece does not include couplers 300 and the base piece 200 does not include computing components (e.g., a processor). Thus, these components cooperate to bi-directionally communicate with other track pieces.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-7, at a high-level, the launcher housing 2120 houses a launcher 290 that can boost (i.e., propel) toy vehicles towards the downstream end 204 of the booster 200 (through the portal receptacle 214). The launcher 290 includes a feedback portion 291, an actuator portion 292 (also referred to as the actuator assembly 292), and a booster wheel assembly 298. In the depicted embodiment, upon actuation of the actuator portion 292, the booster assembly 298 will engage and propel a toy vehicle traveling through passageway 2122 (along a track section 282 disposed in the upstream track receptacle 230) through the portal receptacle 214 (e.g., along a track included in a portal piece installed in portal receptacle 214) towards the downstream end 204 of the booster 200. Actuation of the actuator portion 292 may also cause feedback portion 291 to provide feedback relating to the boost provided by booster assembly 298.

In FIGS. 7-9, the upper side 2104 of housing 212 is removed to show at least the launcher 290, track section 280, and track section 282 in further detail. Notably, while track section 280 includes sidewalls 2804 with a relatively uniform height, track section 282 includes sidewalls 2824 with extensions 2823 that extend upwards into passageway 2122. Booster wheel cutouts 2825 are formed in the extensions 2823 and allow booster wheels 2986 and 2996 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) of booster assembly 298 to extend laterally inwards from both sides of track section 282. This inward extension allows the booster assembly 298 to engage both sides of a toy vehicle traveling along track section 282, which allows the booster assembly 298 to grip and propel the toy vehicle along the track section 282. In this embodiment, the extensions 2823 and wheel cutouts 2825 comprise the track section features mentioned above.

Still referring to FIGS. 7-9, each of the feedback portion 291, the actuator portion 292, and the booster wheel assembly 298 may be at least partially covered by launcher housing 2120 and may be supported internally by various support members. For example, the actuator portion 292 includes an actuator 2922, which, in turn, includes a handle 2923 and a gear assembly 2950 (see FIGS. 11 and 12). The handle 2923 is mounted on a cylindrical actuator housing 2924 and the components included in the gear assembly 2950 are supported by a support member 2926. The actuator housing 2924 may define an internal cavity 2925 (see FIG. 8) that houses portions of the actuator 2922, such as a plunger 2930 (and also at least a portion of support member 2926), while support member 2926 may include various chambers or channels, such as a plunger channel 2927, to ensure various components of gear assembly 2950 are positioned to engage with each other. The actuator housing 2924 is shown in FIG. 7 and removed in FIG. 8, while the support member 2926 is shown in FIG. 8 and partially removed in FIG. 9.

Now turning to FIG. 10, this figure illustrates the plunger 2930 that is included in the actuator 2922 of the actuator portion 292. The plunger 2930 includes an elongate portion 2932 and a head portion 2940. The elongate portion 2932 is formed by a body 2934 that extends from a lower surface 2944 of the head portion 2940. The body 2934 includes a surface 2936 that faces the direction in which the head portion 2940 primarily extends and this surface 2936 includes a toothed rack 2938 that engages a component of the gear assembly 2950 (as is described in further detail below). The lower surface 2944 of the head portion 2940 also includes a tab structure 2946 that is configured to engage a biasing member 2948 included in the actuator 2922. A top surface 2942 of the head portion 2940 is disposed opposite the lower surface 2944 and is configured to engage the handle 2923 of the actuator 2922.

In view of the foregoing features, when a user actuates (e.g., depresses) the handle 2923, the actuation may drive the plunger 2930 downwards (in channel 2927), causing the toothed rack 2938 to drive the gear assembly 2950 and causing the tab structure 2946 to compress biasing member 2948. Then, when the user releases the handle 2923, the compressed biasing member 2948 drives the plunger 2930 and handle 2923 upwards, back towards their rest positions. That is, the biasing member 2948 automatically resets the plunger 2930 after each actuation, which, in turn, automatically resets the handle 2923 after each actuation.

Now turning to FIGS. 11-13, but with continued reference to FIGS. 7-10, the gear assembly 2950 generally connects the plunger 2930 to the booster assembly 298 so that an actuation of actuator 2922 (e.g., via depression of handle 2923) causes rotation of booster wheels 2986 and 2996 included in the booster assembly 298. To effectuate this, the gear assembly 2950 of the depicted embodiment includes a throw out gear 2952 that engages the toothed rack 2938, a reduction gear 2970 that engages a drive gear 2988 included in the booster assembly 298, and a beveled output gear 2960 that engages the throw out gear 2952 at one end and engages the reduction gear 2970 at its other end.

More specifically, the throw out gear 2952 includes a first gear portion 2954 that engages the toothed rack 2938 and a second gear portion 2956 that has a larger diameter than the first gear portion 2954. Gear portion 2954 and gear portion 2956 are both mounted on an axle 2958 that allows the gear portions to rotate about axis A1, which is oriented perpendicular to a direction in which the plunger 2930 translates. The beveled output gear 2960 includes a first gear portion 2962 that engages the second gear portion 2956 of the throw out gear 2952 and a beveled gear portion 2964 that engages an upper gear portion 2972 of the reduction gear 2970. Gear portion 2962 and gear portion 2964 are both mounted on an axle 2966 that allows the gear portions to rotate about axis A2, which is oriented parallel to axis A1. Finally, a lower gear portion 2974 of the reduction gear 2970, which has a larger diameter than the upper gear portion 2972 of the reduction gear 2970, engages the booster assembly 298. Gear portion 2972 and gear portion 2974 are both mounted on an axle 2976 that allows the gear portions to rotate about axis A3, which is oriented perpendicular to axes A1 and A2.

Still referring to FIGS. 11-13, with continued reference to FIGS. 7-10, the booster assembly includes two posts that support booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996 on opposite sides of track section 282 (as discussed above): post 2982 and post 2992. Post 2982 is arranged generally beneath the actuator portion 292 and supports a drive gear 2988 at one end (its top end) and a linkage gear 2984 at its other end (its bottom end). Meanwhile, post 2992 is arranged generally beneath the feedback portion 291 and supports a flywheel 2999 at one end (its top end) and a linkage gear 2994 at its other end (its bottom end).

Each of the components supported by/mounted on post 2982 and 2992 (e.g., the linkage gears, booster wheels, flywheel, and drive gear) is fixed to its respective posts and, thus, rotates with its post. Meanwhile, an outer periphery 2985 of the linkage gear 2984 included on the first post 2982 engages an outer periphery 2995 of the linkage gear 2994 included on the second post 2992 to link rotational movement of posts 2982 and 2992. Thus, booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996 operate in synchronization (i.e., rotate at the same time and at the same speed), but in opposite directions (i.e., one booster wheel rotates in a clockwise direction and the other rotates in a counter-clockwise direction). Thus, booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996 may be described as operating in reverse synchronization.

At a high-level, booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996 rotate in response to actuations of actuator 2922 (e.g., downward depressions of handle 2923). More specifically, in response to a downward, linear actuation of the actuator 2922, the gear assembly 2950 converts linear motion of actuator 2922 into rotational motion and rotates drive gear 2988. Since the drive gear 2988, the booster wheel 2986, and the linkage gear 2984 are all fixedly mounted on a post 2982, rotation of the drive gear 2988 causes rotation of the booster wheel 2986 and the linkage gear 2984, which, in turn, causes rotation of post 2992 and booster wheel 2996.

Moreover, rotating post 2992 rotates the flywheel 2999 mounted atop post 2992. This may generate additional rotation energy beyond the rotational energy generated by gear assembly 2950. This additional rotational energy may continue rotating post 2992 after rotational energy generated by gear assembly 2950 dissipates and, due to the connection between linkage gears 2984 and 2994, the rotational movement generated by flywheel 2999 will rotate both booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996.

Due to the mechanical arrangement of the components in actuator portion 292 and booster assembly 298, continuous actuation of the actuator 2922 may continuously increase the speed at which booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996 rotate. The rotational speed of booster wheels 2986 and 2996 controls the speed at which toy vehicles are propelled away from the launcher 290 and, thus, launcher 290 may offer a user fine-tuned, manual control over the speed at which their vehicles are launched by launcher 290.

In some instances, a user may continuously actuate (e.g., press) that actuator 2922 to increase the speed of subsequent launches (or to build up speed for a single launch). Alternatively, a user can intermittently actuate (e.g., press) the actuator 2922 to try to maintain a certain speed (with smaller intervals of time between the intermittent actuations maintaining a faster speed than larger intervals of time). Regardless, after each actuation of the actuator 2922 (via the handle 2923), the biasing member 2948 may drive the plunger 2930 upwards and the top surface 2942 of the head portion 2940 of the plunger 2930 may press the handle 2923 upwards to return the handle 2923 to a rest position and enable subsequent actuations.

Now turning back to FIG. 2, but with reference to FIGS. 7-13 as well, in at least some embodiments, the play value of booster 200 is enhanced by feedback portion 291. In the depicted embodiment, the feedback section 291 is disposed above the flywheel 2999 and includes a feedback housing 2910 that covers the flywheel 2999 (housing 2910 may be a portion of launcher housing 2120). The feedback housing 2910 includes an opening 2912 that is sealed with a translucent lens 2914. The lens 2914 allows a user to see the flywheel 2999 spinning within the housing 2910 during operation of the launcher 290, which provides visual feedback to a user during operation of launcher 290. Specifically, since the flywheel 2999 will rotate faster as the launcher 290 is operated at higher speeds, the flywheel 2999 provides the user with visual feedback of the speed they are creating with continuous (e.g., repeated) actuations.

Still referring to FIG. 2, but now in combination with FIGS. 11-13, in at least some embodiments, the view of the spinning flywheel 2999 may be the only feedback provided by the feedback portion 291. Alternatively, the visual feedback provided by flywheel 2999 spinning may be supplemented by additional feedback, such as feedback generated based on a detected speed of booster wheels 2986 and 2996. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the feedback portion 291 includes a rotational sensor 3000 to determine the rotational speed of booster wheel 2996, post 2992 and/or the components fixedly mounted on post 2992, which, as mentioned, may be representative of a speed at which the booster wheels will boost a toy vehicle.

Specifically, in the depicted embodiment, the rotational sensor 3000 is an optical rotary encoder and, thus, includes a top member 3002 and a bottom member 3002 that can generate data representative of the rotational speed of booster wheel 2996 based on light patterns created by the rotation of linkage gear 2994. The sensor 3000 can then transmit this data to a processor that can determine the rotational speed of booster wheel 2996 (which is also the rotational speed of booster wheel 2986). As is explained below, in some embodiments, the booster 200 may include a processor, but in other embodiments, the booster 200 may transmit rotational speed data to a processor included in a portal piece installed in the booster 200.

Once a processor determines the rotational speed of booster wheels 2986 and 2996, the processor can cause the feedback portion 291 to provide additional feedback based on the speed. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the feedback portion 291 includes a light 2916 (e.g., one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and the processor may control the color, frequency, or some other light characteristic of the light 2916 based on the speed of booster wheels 2986 and 2996 and/or the speed at which the booster wheels 2986 and 2996 will boost a toy vehicle. For example, the light may change from red to yellow to green as the speed of booster wheels 2986 and 2996 increases towards a desirable speed and then may continue changing from green back to yellow back to red if the speed of booster wheels 2986 and 2996 increases past the desirable speed.

Additionally or alternatively, the feedback portion 291 may include other feedback mechanisms. For example, a processor (included in booster 200 and/or in a portal piece installed in booster 200) could cause light 2916 or a display screen to display a rotational velocity of booster wheels 2986 and 2996, a number representing the rotational velocity (e.g., a mile per hour speed correlated to the rotational speed of booster wheels 2986 and 2996), and/or any other data/indicia. This data could be displayed in a heads-up manner on lens 2914 or on some other display screen included in the feedback portion 291. As another example, the feedback portion 291 could include a speedometer dial that is controlled by a processor based on the speed of booster wheels 2986 and 2996. The dial may even rotate with respect to a gauge.

Now turning to FIGS. 14-17, these Figures illustrate additional embodiments of a toy vehicle booster formed in accordance with the present application. These additional embodiments are both relatively similar to booster 200. For example, booster 200′ (FIG. 14) and booster 200″ (FIGS. 15-17) each drive two linked booster wheels disposed on opposite sides of a track in response to manual actuations of an actuator (linkage gears 2984 and 2994 of booster 200″ are shown in FIG. 17), each allow a user to continuously actuate the booster, and each provide at least some feedback regarding the speed of booster wheels included therein. Thus, for brevity, components of booster 200′ and booster 200″ that are labeled with reference numbers used to describe components of booster 200 are not described again below. Instead, any description of these components included above is intended to apply to the like components included in booster 200′ and booster 200″ and the foregoing description focuses on the differences between booster 200, booster 200′, and booster 200″.

One notable difference between booster 200 and boosters 200′ and 200″ is that boosters 200′ and 200″ each include a handle 2923 that is rotatably coupled to the launcher portion 292, instead of a handle 2923 that is linearly translatable with respect to the launcher portion 292. To achieve this, the handles 2923 included in booster 200′ and booster 200″ each include a mounting portion 2921 that extends around the launcher portion 292. Then, the mounting portion 2921 is coupled to the actuator housing 2924 of launcher portion 292 via a rotatable coupling 2928. The rotatable coupling 2928 drives the gear assembly 2950 in response to rotational motion of the handle 2923 (e.g., clockwise motion). Consequently, like booster 200, booster 200′ and booster 200″ can each drive booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996 in response to repeated manual actuations.

Other than the handle 2923, booster 200′ is largely identical to booster 200. On the other hand, booster 200″ has a number of other differences, albeit differences that are largely unrelated to the mechanical operations of launcher 290. For example, instead of providing the launcher 290 within a launcher housing 2120 that is part of a larger housing 212, booster 200″ includes a launcher housing 2120 that is mounted on a unitary track piece 260. Track piece 260 still extends from an upstream end 202 to a downstream end 204 (and includes couplers 300 at each of ends 202 and 204). However, neither launcher housing 2120 nor track piece 260 define a portal receptacle 214 (among other features). Thus, booster 200″ is not configured to receive a portal piece that houses computing components associated with the booster 200. Instead, the booster 200 includes any electrical/computing components (generally denoted at 265) therein/thereon (computing components 265 are described in further detail below in connection with FIG. 19).

Now turning to FIG. 18, this Figure provides a detailed view of a portion of booster 200″ that is visible in the back perspective view of FIG. 16. This portion includes the sensor 3000 that is described above in connection with booster 200. However, now, the sensor 3000 is not generating data based directly on rotational movements of linkage gear 2994. Instead, post 2992 includes an optical ring 2998 with spaced apart protrusions, and the top member 3002 and the bottom member 3002 are disposed above and below the protrusions, respectively. Thus, the sensor 3000 can determine the rotational speed of booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996 based on rotational movement of the optical ring 2998. That said, optical ring 2998 is merely one additional example of a component that the sensor 3000 can monitor to determine the rotational speed of booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996 (in addition to linkage gear 2994). In other embodiments, the rotational speed of booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996 can be monitored/determined in any manner now known or developed hereafter.

Now turning to FIG. 19, this Figure illustrates, at a high-level, example arrangements of computing/electrical components 265 that could be included in the booster 200 and/or a portal piece 100 installed in (and, thus, electrically connected to) the booster 200. As is discussed above, in some embodiments a majority of (if not all of) computing components 265 reside in a portal piece 100 installed in booster 200 (e.g., the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-13), but in other embodiments computing components 265 all reside in booster 200 (e.g., the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15-17). Thus, in the depicted embodiment, portal piece 100 is shown with dashed lines to illustrate both of these example embodiments. However, these are merely two example arrangements and in other embodiments, components 265 could be arranged in any desired configuration.

Nevertheless, for simplicity, components 265 are described below as being included in portal 100, with the understanding that this description applies to components included in portal 100 or in booster 200. For example, in the depicted embodiment, booster 200 includes optical sensor 3000, couplers 300, and LED 2916 while the portal piece 100 includes a processor 172, a memory 174, and a communications module 173 (each of which may be powered by a battery module and/or wired power). Notably, the actuator launcher 290 itself, or at least the actuator assembly 292 and the booster assembly 298 thereof, does/do not include electrical components that cause actuations of the launcher 290; the launcher 290 requires manual, mechanical actuations to generate rotational speed. That is, the actuator assembly 292 and the booster assembly 298 may be purely mechanical.

The memory 174 may store operational logic 179 that may allow the processor 172 to operate and/or monitor the various electrical components of booster 200 (e.g., optical sensor 3000, couplers 300, and LED 2916). For example, the processor 172 can operate the LED 2916 based on data received from optical sensor 3000, which may generate data representative of the rotational velocity of booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996.

More specifically, memory 174 may include random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage devices (i.e., dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), and synchronous DRAM (SD RAM)), for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 172. The memory 174 may also include a read only memory (ROM) or other static storage device (i.e., programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), and electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)) for storing static information and instructions for the processor 172.

Although FIG. 19 only explicitly shows connections between processor 172 and the optical sensor 3000, the LED 2916, and the couplers 300, the portal piece 100 and/or booster 200 may also include a bus or other communication mechanism for communicating information between the processor 172, memory 174, and communications module 173. Additionally, although FIG. 19 shows the processor 172 as a single box, it should be understood that the processor 172 may represent a plurality of processing cores, each of which can perform separate processing. The processor 172 may also include special purpose logic devices (i.e., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) or configurable logic devices (i.e., simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), that, in addition to microprocessors and digital signal processors may individually, or collectively, are types of processing circuitry.

Generally, the processor 172 performs a portion or all of the processing steps required to execute instructions received at communication module 173 and/or instructions contained in memory 174. Such instructions may be read into memory 174 from another computer readable medium. One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute the sequences of instructions contained in memory 174. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions. Thus, embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. Put another way, portal 100 and/or booster 200 includes at least one computer readable medium or memory for holding instructions programmed according to the embodiments presented herein and for containing data structures, tables, records, or other data described herein.

Still referring to FIG. 19, the communication module 173 provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network, such as a local area network (LAN) or the Internet. The two-way data communication coupling provided by the communication module 173 can be wired (e.g., via a data port) or wireless. Moreover, the two-way communication may allow the portal piece 100 and/or the booster 200 to communicate with other track pieces, via couplers 300, in accordance with a specific communications protocol. Additionally or alternatively, the two-way communication may allow the portal piece to communicate with an electronic device that is coupled to the track system (e.g., via a wired connection and/or via a wireless connection, such as a BLUETOOTH LE connection).

Although an electronic device is not shown in FIG. 19, the portal piece 100 can connect to any personal electronic device, including portable electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops running a variety of operating systems (e.g., iOS, Android, etc.), as well as desktops or other computing device that require wired power. This may allow the portal 100 and/or the booster 200 to transmit the rotational speed of booster wheel 2986 and booster wheel 2996 to an electronic device, which can display the speed (or a representation thereof, such as a mile per hour speed correlated to the rotational speed), use the speed in creating a digital simulation of toy vehicle's traversing a digital track, or execute other operations involving the booster speed.

It is to be understood that terms such as “left,” “right,” “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “rear,” “side,” “height,” “length,” “width,” “upper,” “lower,” “interior,” “exterior,” “inner,” “outer” and the like as may be used herein, merely describe points or portions of reference and do not limit the present invention to any particular orientation or configuration. Further, the term “exemplary” is used herein to describe an example or illustration. Any embodiment described herein as exemplary is not to be construed as a preferred or advantageous embodiment, but rather as one example or illustration of a possible embodiment of the invention.

Although the disclosed inventions are illustrated and described herein as embodied in one or more specific examples, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the inventions and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. In addition, various features from one of the embodiments may be incorporated into another of the embodiments. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A toy vehicle booster comprising: a housing that defines a passageway along which a toy vehicle may be boosted; and a launcher disposed in or on the housing, the launcher comprising: an actuator assembly; a booster assembly that can engage the toy vehicle to boost the toy vehicle along the passageway, wherein the booster assembly be driven at increasing speeds via repeated user actuations of the actuator assembly; and a feedback portion that provides visual feedback relating to a speed at which the booster assembly will boost the toy vehicle.
 2. The toy vehicle booster of claim 1, wherein the booster assembly comprises linked booster wheels disposed on opposite sides of the passageway, the linked booster wheels operating in reverse synchronization.
 3. The toy vehicle booster of claim 2, wherein: the linked booster wheels comprise a first wheel with a drive gear that is driven by the actuator assembly and a first linkage gear and a second wheel with a second linkage gear that is driven by the first linkage gear; and the feedback portion comprises an optical rotational sensor configured to generate data representative a rotational speed of linked booster wheels based on light patterns created by rotation of the first linkage gear, the second linkage gear, or an optical ring rotationally coupled to the first wheel or the second wheel, wherein a processor included in or connected to the toy vehicle booster produces the visual feedback based on the data.
 4. The toy vehicle booster of claim 1, wherein: the booster assembly comprises at least one booster wheel and a flywheel that rotates with the booster assembly in response to the repeated user actuations while generating additional rotational energy; the feedback portion includes an opening that provides a view of the flywheel; and the visual feedback comprises rotations of the flywheel.
 5. The toy vehicle booster of claim 1, wherein the actuator assembly comprises: an actuator with a handle, wherein the repeated user actuations of the handle cause repeated movements of the actuator; a biasing member configured to automatically reset the actuator after each actuation of the repeated user actuations; and a gear assembly that translates each movement of the repeated movements of the actuator to the booster assembly.
 6. The toy vehicle booster of claim 5, wherein the actuator comprises a plunger that is linearly translatable within an actuator housing.
 7. The toy vehicle booster of claim 6, wherein the booster assembly comprises at least one booster wheel and the gear assembly translates linear movement of the plunger to rotational motion that drives the at least one booster wheel.
 8. The toy vehicle booster of claim 5, wherein the actuator is rotatably coupled to the housing and engages the gear assembly via a rotatable coupling.
 9. The toy vehicle booster of claim 1, wherein the booster assembly comprises at least one booster wheel and the feedback portion comprises: a rotational sensor configured to generate data representative of a rotational speed of the at least one booster wheel, wherein a processor included in or connected to the toy vehicle booster produces the visual feedback based on the data.
 10. The toy vehicle booster of claim 1, wherein the housing defines a track pathway that extends through the passageway or the housing is mountable onto a track piece in a position that aligns the track piece with the passageway.
 11. The toy vehicle booster of claim 1, wherein the housing includes electrical connectors that can connect the toy vehicle booster to additional electrical track pieces and allow bi-directional communication between the toy vehicle booster and one or more of the additional electrical track pieces.
 12. The toy vehicle booster of claim 1, wherein the toy vehicle booster includes or is connectable to a communications module that can transmit data representative of the speed at which the booster assembly will boost the toy vehicle to a computing device that is usable independently from the toy vehicle booster so that the computing device can: (a) provide additional visual feedback; (b) operate digital play features in a digital environment based on the data; or (c) perform (a) and (b) in combination.
 13. A toy vehicle booster comprising: a housing that defines a passageway along which a toy vehicle may be boosted; a launcher disposed in or on the housing, the launcher comprising: an actuator assembly; a booster assembly including at least one booster wheel that can engage the toy vehicle to boost the toy vehicle along the passageway; and a feedback portion with a rotational sensor configured to generate data representative of a rotational speed of the at least one booster wheel, wherein a processor included in or connected to the toy vehicle booster causes the feedback portion to generate visual feedback relating to a speed at which the booster assembly will boost the toy vehicle based on the data.
 14. The toy vehicle booster of claim 13, wherein the feedback portion comprises: one or more lights, the visual feedback comprising a light characteristic output by the one or more lights, wherein the processor controls the light characteristic based on the data.
 15. The toy vehicle booster of claim 14, wherein the light characteristic is color and the processor causes the one or more lights to output a first light color when the speed at which the booster assembly will boost the toy vehicle is within a range of values and output a second light color when the speed at which the booster assembly will boost the toy vehicle is outside the range of values.
 16. The toy vehicle booster of claim 13, wherein the feedback portion comprises: a lens or a display, wherein the processor causes the speed at which the booster assembly will boost the toy vehicle to be displayed on the display or the lens.
 17. The toy vehicle booster of claim 13, wherein the housing further comprises: a portal receptacle and a portal connector, the portal receptacle being sized to receive a portal piece and the portal connector being configured to connect the portal piece to the feedback portion, wherein the portal piece includes the processor.
 18. The toy vehicle booster of claim 17, wherein the actuator assembly and the booster assembly are purely mechanical.
 19. A toy vehicle booster comprising: a housing that defines a passageway along which a toy vehicle may be boosted; a launcher disposed in or on the housing, the launcher comprising: an actuator assembly; a booster assembly including at least one booster wheel that can engage the toy vehicle to boost the toy vehicle along the passageway; and a rotational sensor configured to generate data representative of a rotational speed of the at least one booster wheel, wherein a communications module included in or connected to the toy vehicle booster that is configured to transmit the data to a computing device that is usable independently from the toy vehicle booster so that the computing device can: (a) provide visual feedback relating to a speed at which the booster assembly will boost the toy vehicle; (b) operate digital play features in a digital environment based on the data; or (c) perform (a) and (b) in combination.
 20. The toy vehicle booster of claim 19, wherein the housing further comprises: a portal receptacle and a portal connector, the portal receptacle being sized to receive a portal piece and the portal connector being configured to connect the portal piece to the rotational sensor, wherein the portal piece includes the communications module. 